Autismo

Fundamental Elements of Diagnosis and Treatment of Autism

One in 50 children in the United States is diagnosed with autism, which is equivalent to about 1.5 million Americans who have some form of autism today. Every 20 minutes a family in the United States receives the news that their child is diagnosed with autism. The increase in autism in recent years has become this bad in the mostcommon human developmental disorder. While no one knows exactly what causes autism and has not found a cure at present, family, teachers and doctors are three key elements to early diagnosis and effective treatment for an autistic child.

The first element in the diagnosis and treatment of a child with autism is the family. It is necessary to incorporate the family experience in the continuousmonitoring of child development, to be aware of any changes. The family must understand that autistic disorder is not a disease; it is a syndrome and is set of symptoms when the child is detected in a change in the evolution of the social, motor, language, intellectual. In general, parents, who interact daily with the child, are the first to detect certain
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differences or changes, andto observe any abnormality in the form of social interaction, which will be more noticeable with time. Some Parents and other family members can say that the first symptoms appear imperceptible after the six month, then between 2 and 3 years the manifestations of abnormal behavior or stereotyped behavior, become abruptly (Rogers, 2009).

Some common stereotypical behavior to be detected by thefamily at an early age are: the difficult interacting and bonding, the low expression of smiles, not following objects with her eyes, not maintaining eye contact with people, not uttering words, mourning with unexpected sounds, moving hands and arms without meaning. After two years of age, there are other more specific behaviors related to the social aspect, easily detected by parents, forexample, isolated from other children, not to show affection to other people, not recognizing family from strangers, talking alone, excessive sniffing of objects, constant flapping hands, running around in circles and walking on tiptoe.

Another important stereotype in the behavior of children with autism, is the ritualistic behaviors that leads them to perform certain actions obsessive, often theyshow excitement when they perceive a change in daily routine. For example they can get angry, cry or scream without control.

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According to some experts, autistic children have a late development of affective behaviors, presenting initially apparent rejection of physical contact, a resistance to changing environments and routines and a high attachment to certain objects (Reviere,2002). Usually these repetitive behaviors, problems with social interaction and communication difficulties, are the symptoms easier to detect during the early school years, with the help of teachers.

Teachers are the second fundamental element in the process of diagnosis and treatment of an autistic child. Autism is usually detected during the early school years. It is very important thatteachers in early learning and pre-school are trained to detect these disorders and behavioral development. The work of teachers is very important because together with parents and medical experts; teachers can effectively diagnose autistic disorder.

it is at schools, where the diagnosis becomes important, with the participation of teachers and early stimulation. Teachers have the responsibility toconsider the development of all areas (cognitive, affective, social and psychomotor) in an integrated manner. The integration of family and educators should be directed to training and constant updating of theories and practice by professionals involved with these families and educational contexts.

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Teachers detect if the child does not share or play with other children, if...